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Category: Splatoon 2

‘Splatoon’ is a burgeoning franchise that is so fundamentally Nintendo, right to its core, that we almost have to laugh. This is a game about children running around arenas splattering everything on the map with their team’s color of ink. It’s messy, it’s fast, it’s fun and it is approachable to just about everyone. The first game released to a wave of shocked praise, applauding the game for making something so simple into a multiplayer online juggernaut. Now ‘Splatoon 2’ is here and fans are once again thrown back into the quirky, colorful and frenetic world again.

‘Splatoon 2’ is all about the squid-people hybrids known as Inklings. They are focused on making puns, inking everything in sight, and doing it with an almost drug induced energy that we find exhausting to think about. At face value ‘Splatoon 2’ is merely an updated version of the first game, with tightened controls and new items, but there is a little more going on here than you might think.

Gamers who are just joining the franchise should head straight to the single player mode in order to engage in a great introduction to the core mechanics. In ‘Splatoon’ the single player mode was an after thought but ‘Splatoon 2’ allows it to shine. The story mode teaches players how to use all of the items, how to incorporate important multiplayer techniques such as rail grinding, while also giving players a familiarity with the maps that will be so important.

Still, players are coming back to ‘Splatoon 2’ in order to give it a go on the competitive mode. There are ranked matches and non ranked matches available. Turf War is a fun exercise for non ranked multiplayer campaigns. In fact, the whole system is pretty wonderful. ‘Splatoon 2’ simply does better all of the already great things that ‘Splatoon’ managed to do a couple of years ago.

Earlier this year, Nintendo announced that it would release a mobile application that would assist players with their games. Well, the time has finally come. As of July 18th, 2017, the Nintendo Switch Online app has been released through the App Store and Google Play Store.

Based on the app, Splatoon 2 is currently the only game that will be supported. Once Splatoon 2 is released on Friday, players will be able to invite friends, use voice chat, view stage schedules, and view battle statistics. Battle statistics include win rate, total turf inked, and letter rank in ranked modes, just to name a few.

This is especially exciting for Splatoon veterans where statistics, such as win rate, was hidden in the first Splatoon game. Even statistics that were available before will now be readily available in the app. Hardcore players will be able to look at past battles and analyze their performance and see what they can do to improve. In addition, the new game mode in Splatoon 2, Salmon Run, will have its schedule posted as well.

The only feature that is not exhilarating in this app is most likely the voice chat feature. It might be useful, but the setup that Nintendo has suggested seems a bit too convoluted. Especially when calling someone instead would more or less complete the same task.

Other than that, though, it seems that this will be advantageous for any Splatoon fan. Search “Nintendo Switch Online” in the App Store or Google Play Store to download the app today.